What to Do With a Tag You Can't Use

by
posted on November 12, 2015
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
unused_tags_f.jpg

The Background
Every year, I put in for a variety of tags across the U.S. in hopes of drawing one so I can hunt somewhere other than at home. I’ve always wondered what I’d do if I drew a bunch of tags in the same yearwell, this year I found out.

The Dilemma
Like many of you, my days off are numbered and my family is youngI don’t have unlimited time to hunt my way across the country the way I'd like to. I decided that I could combine two of my hunts into one, and managed to work in a third hunt where I’ll have a rare Arizona elk tag. But that pushed my days off to the absolute limit. All was well until a Wyoming antelope tag turned up in the mailbox. What now?

The Solution
As much as I hated to have spent $500 on a tag that I couldn’t use, it pained me more to know that it would go to waste. I called the state of Wyoming and they let me know about a program that allows hunters to donate their tags for use by wounded veterans or non-veteran disabled hunters. I will gladly hand my tag over to someone who shed their blood for our nation or someone who can’t get around the outdoors as well as others. I filled out this form and enclosed it with my tag. According to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s website, mine was one of 11 buck antelope tags donated this season. Other states have similar programs, so if you have a tag that you can’t use, pick up the phone and see whether you can put it to good use.

Latest

Ledeboone And Crockett Club Launches
Ledeboone And Crockett Club Launches

Fueled by AI: Boone and Crockett Club Launches Big Game Records Live 2.0

The Boone and Crockett Club recently launched Big Game Records Live 2.0, a major evolution of its digital platform that transforms the world’s oldest big game records database into an interactive analytics tool for hunters.

Lightweight AR-10: Building a Hunt-Focused Backcountry Rifle (Part 1)

Curious how to create a .308-chambered AR-10 that *doesn't* suck to carry into the backcountry? Dennis Bradley does just that, off a DPMS-pattern lower, and comes it at a shocking weight (read on for the exact number, but it is sub 2). Read on, to see how he does it.

ScentLok Launches Realtree XT-3 Apparel

ScentLok is going all-in on Realtree's new XT-3 pattern, dropping it onto more than half of its latest product introductions. This new look is headlined by the Savanna Fuse, Ridge and BE:1 collections.

New for 2026: Latitude Outdoors Whitetail Frame Packs

Mobile whitetail hunters have long faced a familiar compromise: carry a lightweight pack for the hunt, or haul a frame pack for the pack out. Latitude Outdoors has released a pack to solve that problem, with a frame system built from the ground up for the mobile whitetail hunter.

The Problem with Pressures: A +Peak Revolution?

The history of the projectile, and of the centerfire cartridge, is fascinating, and it seems as though we are ready to take the next step forward. Or are we? Let's take a look at how pressures have affected cartridges throughout history, and the evolution that seems to be currently starting.

More than $1.3 Billion Raised by Duck Stamp Sales

On June 26 the 2026-2027 Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, aka Duck Stamp, went on sale. The fact it raises about $40 million for conservation annually gets the headlines, but there are underpublicized benefits for making the $25 purchase—even non-hunters.

Interests



Get the best of American Hunter delivered to your inbox.